U.S. Pat. No. 7,053,340 B2 discloses, in the case of a heating device which has a plurality of independent and separate long heating elements, dividing the heating elements into three heating elements. A first and a second heating element are connected to an energy supply means by means of an overtemperature protection means in the form of a so-called rod-type thermostat. The overtemperature protection means switches off the two heating elements in the event of an overtemperature. An overtemperature of this kind may be approximately 500° C. to 600° C. and be considered a hazard to a hob plate which is composed of glass ceramic. A third heating element is connected to an energy supply means directly and without monitoring by the overtemperature protection means and without interconnection of the overtemperature protection means. In this case, the electrical power of the third heating element is considerably lower than that of the first and second heating elements.